A Peacock's Feather
by Yuka Hara
Summary: She was a girl with complete sass. She stuck up for her friends and protected her loved ones, just like a hero from a comic. She has a secret that will be slowly unwrapped after a misunderstanding. Who she is and who she act like isn't the real her. Who is Tomoka?
1. Chapter 1

Title: A Peacock's Feather  
>Genre: Romance, Drama<br>Pairings: Tomoka-centric!  
>Summary: She was a girl with complete sass. She stuck up for her friends and protected her loved ones, just like a hero from a comic. She has a secret that will be slowly unwrapped after a misunderstanding. Who she is and who she act like isn't the real her. Who is Tomoka?<p>

**Notice: Hello there fellow readers!**

**I haven't updated, or been on for a few months. I just been so busy with school and everything that has come up in my life. For my other stories, I'm trying on them but I can't come to update unless I have some spare time. During one of my days, I thought up of this idea for a story. It may not be any good, but for those who actually checked this out, Thank you very much. Please enjoy-  
>There haven't been much Tomoka-starring fan fictions at all around anywhere! It's mostly Sakuno actually. I don't hate Sakuno or anything, she's actually a really nice character, but so is Tomoka. Even if she doesn't appear as much as Sakuno, I believe she should have a story of her own.<br>That's why I'm writing this story, either way, please enjoy this story and try to give it a chance.  
>Tomoka means "Brilliant Friend" Which she truly is!<br>**

**It's a entirely different type of atmosphere I'm trying to write. A.K.A: Dramatica So please bear with me if she becomes out of genre. Again, enjoy and thank you for giving this story a chance by clicking onto Chapter one!**

**~Yuka Hara**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and the names for Tomoka's family and ocs'. **

* * *

><p>Out of no where, there was only one color, black. It showed like an endless abyss. Nothing can be found there. A girl wandered around, her arms wrapped around herself, she ran and ran. No matter where she was going to go, she didn't want to stay there. No sound was heard, just like the inside of an empty box. Holding out her hands, she waved them around. The girl stopped in the middle of her tracks and opened her mouth to speak. She took in a deep breath and let out everything. All her fear and frustration. But nothing came out. She slumped towards the ground, not caring how her head had crashed onto the dark floor. She just wanted to leave...<p>

The sun was out, spreading it's warm rays down to the people on Earth. While some places were cool from not being so close to the equator, the was a different story when being on an island.

In Japan, the crickets chirped along with the bustling voices of people walking off to go to school. The subways and trains hollered out the stops and zoomed past others waiting for their ride. Their wheels clanging onto the metal rails loudly. Cotton like clouds floated softly in one direction up in the sky. A bird or two could be seen flying past high in the air if you were to squint your eyes up.

Students attending classes wore their uniforms with short sleeves; showing that it was summer.

Sports were most popular during this season; more specifically tennis. Here in Tokyo, two schools were known mostly in their tennis circuit, Seishun Gakuen and Hyotei Academy. The two schools weren't in the same area but were both known for their boy's tennis team, more so their captains. Both played hard with strong wills. But seasons changed a few times already and these captains had already graduated from their junior high school. They moved onto their senior High School that was still in the same school, but was not in the club.

The regulars from the old teams grew stronger and those who became third years had become buchou and fukubucho. They trained harshly to grasp the Kantou Tournament and reaching the Nationals as before. Though the team didn't function as amazing as before as most of the regulars were third years which left a huge gap in the team. But they didn't give up.

A girl with a beauty mark under her right eye blinked as she kicked her feet under her desk. She wore a normal Seishun Gakuen uniform, her ribbon tied neatly on top of her chest. The colors of white, light green and pink made her stick out like a sore thumb, but so did every other single girl in the entire school. Her light hazel eyes sparkled when she looked out the window to see the buchou of the tennis team. She waved towards the new buchou, Momoshiro-bucho, but she still called him 'Momo-chan-senpai' as she was not in the tennis team. As she turned her head, her two pig-tails slapped against her cheeks softly, barely making a small brush.

The door in front slid open and she instantly stood up, hands banging onto her desk. Others looked to see the commotion but she kept her stare at the other girl by the door. "Sakuno!" She said before racing to her best friend who was fidgeting the hem of her skirt, a light blush covering her cheeks.

"T-Tomo-chan..."

Osakada, Tomoka laughed loudly at her friends. Students looked to see the loud girl, ignoring her laughs, but no one could not notice the happiness she worn on her face. "Sorry, Sakuno." She said, giving a bright smile, "You were late today, I thought you were sick or something! Are you alright?!" Tomoka asked before looking at Sakuno in a 360 degrees inspection. The shy girl shook her head and her blush seemed to deepen. Her fingers fiddling with each other out of habit. "Ah! Something happened didn't it?!" Being close friends with Sakuno, Tomoka always knew what was wrong. Her eyes narrowed and a smile fell on her expression, "Come on! Tell me Sakuno!"

Sakuno only nodded shyly before opening her mouth, "A-Ah...C-Can we talk outside?" She asked.

Tomoka wore a quizzial look but agreed anyway.

The hallways were filled with students of all years. The dark letters of the room numbers hung above each doors. The windows out in front were wide and clear, giving anyone a nice view of people below and the everything in front and up. Tomoka and Sakuno stood next to an opened window, feeling the breeze brush past the two girls.

"Sakuno, spill!" Tomoka said, her hands clutched together as she bit down on her lips in excitement, her eyes shown brighter as she felt like her curiousness was coming over her.

Sakuno looked slightly afraid as she swallowed her saliva. A minute passed in silence and Tomoka was still on the edge of her seat. She watched her friend close her eyes tightly before speaking, "I...I saw Ryoma-kun..." She said, her voice stuttering in panic. As she opened her eyes she saw Tomoka completely shocked. Her mouth gawked open with her eyes widening to such an extent. She let out a sigh, knowing what was to come.

"WHAT?!" Tomoka screeched throughout the hallway. Her voice seemed to echo past every inch of the whole school, silence was only heard and then it became the total rambling of the girl. "WHERE DID YOU SEE HIM!? I CAN"T BELIEVE RYOMA-SAMA IS BACK!" She shouted, her hands waving around in a frantic performance. Sakuno sweat-dropped but was only relieved that Tomoka didn't get a heart attack and wasn't shaking her.

"TELL ME EVERYTHING!" That was the last words Sakuno heard before she brought out a large bottle of water.

* * *

><p>At lunch break that day, the same two girls walked over towards the tennis courts. Their bentos neatly wrapped in cloth and was held in their hands. Tomoka had one that was sleek black, with a traditional flower on the side as decoration. Sakuno on the other hand had a light pink one, with a white bunny in the front. It was a bit chilidish, but both girls thought it was cute.<p>

"G-Good Afternoon, Momo-buchou!" Sakuno squeaked out as she caught sight of the captain and bowed formally.

Momoshiro, Takeshi waltzed over. He wasn't in his jersey, since it wasn't practice and he was just supervising the non-regulars and regulars whom wanted to practice more to improve their skills. He laughed at the embarrassed girl and winked, "It's alright Sakuno-chan. Just call me Momo-chan-senpai like always."

"B-But..." Sakuno stuttered out.

Tomoka heaved a sigh, knowing exactly what the girl was thinking. Just at the start of the new school year, Momo had shouted loudly all over the school exclaiming that if tennis members didn't call him 'buchou', he would crush them with his slam dunk. Somewhere along the line, rumors and gossiping spread and it ended up saying that if no one called Momo buchou, then he would beat them up.

"E-Eto...Sakuno-chan..." Momo said nervously, not knowing what to say anymore when he saw the girl wearing a terrified expression.

"Y-You're going to beat me up." Sakuno said as she tumbled behind Tomoka.

"Ah...Tomoka-chan, can you tell Sakuno-chan that it's just a rumor?" Momo asked, a pleading expression fell on his face.

Before Tomoka could say a word, a ball whized past Momo. "Chisu." A voice spoke in a cocky tone. The three turned, gawking at what or exactly, who was in front of them.

"RYOMA-SAMA!?/R-Ryoma-kun!/ Echizen!"

Echizen, Ryoma stood in front of them before he tipped his hat and walked in front of Tomoka. "Yo Osakada. Ryuzaki." He greeted towards the two girls.

Sakuno had already came out from behind Tomoka and now was trying come up with the courage to say something. Her blush was now completely evident on her face and everyone can clearly see that she had a crush on the girl. "R-Ryoma-kun...A-Are you attending-" Her words were cut short and she watched as Ryoma completely seemed to ignore her words as Momo shouted at the boy in furious way.

"Echizen! You're back! Why did you attack me with a tennis ball!? I could've been killed!" He said loudly.

Ryoma barely only raise a brow, "I don't think so, Momo-chan-senpai has such a thick skull." He said in a cocky tone, that trailed off as he wore a casual smirk. Momo only grinned and laughed, locking his arm around Ryoma's neck.

"You never change Echizen!"

That day, Ryoma had returned from America. Tomoka was overjoyed that her admirer had finally returned and was surprised that he only left for a month or two. She wondered why he came back so early, wasn't he going to be in tennis tournaments? She let the thought slide and laughed along.

News about Ryoma being a transfer student at Seigaku raised many questions among students. They were all extremly excited to see the Prince of tennis again. He had a few fans who were squealing just by the thought of seeing the arrogant boy again. The teachers on the other hand weren't that happy. They experienced the rude and bluntness of the boy and weren't keen on the idea of going through it.

But they couldn't go against the principle and were sighing with a feint smile that the principle was happy.

"What are you doing?" Tomoka asked before being hushed by a boy with a uni brow. Horio looked at the girl with a confused expression.

"Echizen is back, you aren't going to talk to him." He watched as the girl's eyes widened and race past him, not even glancing back. He sighed, thinking he shouldn't have said anything.

"RYOMA-SAMA!" A voice screamed, "GET AWAY FROM HIM! I'm his number one fan!"

* * *

><p>After school, all the second years went to the tennis courts. Kachiro and Katsuo along with Horio chatted to an obnoxious Ryoma in glee. All three didn't care about his cockiness, even if they did act like it.<p>

Tomoka and Sakuno talked to each other, laughing softly at the boys who were bickering among themselves.

"INUI-SENPAI!" Two voices choursed through out the courts. The six second years stopped in their tracks as they saw the tennis buchou and fukubucho scream in fright of a liquid drink held by the one and only Inui, Sadaharu. He wore casual wear along with the other old regulars, but the only thing that caught everyone eyes was the bubbling drink of AOZU.

"Get that away Inui-senpai!" Momo shouted, trying to back away from him. "We don't need that drink! Our regime is fine!" he shouted.

The glasses on Inui's face gleamed before he pushed it up with a finger and smiled. "Are you sure Momo? 30% says you are fine with the team, 60% that your team is stong enough as we were last year but 100% that you're going easy on them and Aozu will fix everything."

"Fshh...Hello Tezuka-buchou." Kaidoh spoke politely to his senpais, ignoring Momo's plea.

"Saa...Inui, shouldn't you leave that drink somewhere else? On the other hand, why don't you try it?" Fuji asked with a wide smile as he looked up at Tezuka, urging the former captain to go along with his plan.

"Senpai-tachi." Ryoma greeted, earning complete silence. "Yo." He said.

Everyone went and greeted the prince, they were all happy he was back. The bickering stopped but then Inui went to offer Ryoma some Aozu which he declined completely.

"OISHI!" Eiji said with a grin, "Ochibi is back! He finally is!"

The voices of all the regulars emitted through the whole tennis courts like an endless rainbow. It brought a warm feeling through the loud girl's heart. Her eyes gazed at her friend, who was fidgeting at whether to talk to Ryoma who was listening to Eiji and Momo booming questions about events that passed through their life as a high schooler and going to America. Tomoka softened her expression and only gave a small tap on the shoulders at Sakuno's shoulders. A smile revealed on her face as her eyes brightened; soft hands grabbed onto Sakuno's and the two girls looked at each other. Both seemed to send each other a type of telepathic conversation.

Tomoka only turned her head to the tennis prodigy and dragged along her flustered friend. She wasn't going to take 'no' as an answer. "Ryoma-sama!" Tomoka greeted quite loudly, her cheeks flushed with slight redness and her eyes never left the figure of the boy. "How was America?" She inquired quickly before pushing Sakuno slightly in front of her, "Sakuno finally got to be a regular on the girl's team!" She said loudly.

Ryoma tipped his cap down and the other regulars came to congratulate the girl, excluding Kaidoh and Momo who have known this already. "Ryuzaki..." He spoke bluntly, "Congratulations.."

Sakuno's eyes widened slightly at first before her whole shocked expression was covered up with a warm smile. "Un!" She said, before thanking everyone else on the news. "Eto, Tomo-chan...?" The girl asked, looking for her friend who would have already tried to talk to Ryoma or argue with Horio. "Tomo-chan...?" She called out again before realizing that she wasn't there anymore.

Fuji looked around in a perplexed expression along with the others, "Saa...Where could have Osakada-chan have gone to?"

"Nya! I thought she would be stuck to Ochibi like glue already!" Eiji said with a pout, crossing his own arms before looking around. "I'll go search for her!" And then he started to run out of the court; Fuji trailing behind him, talking about how interesting it would be. Inui stood on the side, writing down some things in his notebook and muttering that things were not what he calculated as.

"E-Eiji!" Oishi shouted, commenting on the rude comment his partner had spoken about the girl from before. He followed suit, not wanting anyone to get in trouble.

"Senpai-tachi is loud as always..." Ryoma spoke as he stood next to Sakuno. He gazed at the girl slightly, something flickering in his eyes before he turned away and said a small goodbye to the girl.

"B-Bye R-Ryoma-kun!"

* * *

><p>The cherry blossoms came again, as the season of spring spread through Seishun Gakuen. The third years cheered on how they were going to graduate soon but were also sad that it was their last year. Many decided to do what they were going to do after all. The tennis team weren't as strong as they were two years ago or even one year ago, but that didn't mean they try their hardest.<p>

The three ichinen- Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo all got into regular places as their third year of Seishun. Ryoma became the captain, his decisions may be rash but Momo and Kaidoh thought he was the only one who could help and bring everyone to higher places. He was still the Pillar of Support after all.

Sakuno wasn't that shy and weak as before. She gained new found confidence when she became the fuku-buchou for the girl's team and also a manager of the boy's tennis team. She learned to multitask and adapt to glares that were sent from girls that were fans of Ryoma.

Tomoka could only watch back at her friend; she couldn't feel any prouder. It took her many begging and meetings with the principle to make the tennis team allow a female manager. It wasn't something he would allow freely, but when he saw the dedication Tomoka was giving to have this opportunity. Well, of course she wasn't going to be the manager, she offered this to Sakuno who was completely shocked by the fact that the school started accepting managers. She said nothing, her best friend didn't need to worry about the facts herself.

It was at lunch when Tomoka realized how she was completely alone. Unlike the years before, she didn't go to the tennis team as much. It was an outrageous thing; just a few months ago, she was still there, barging through the gates and shouting at Horio and the rest. But now she barely even stepped near there. She would sometimes pass through the courts, but rather than that, she didn't spend any time there.

Sakuno had her hands full after being accepted as manager. The two young girls were still very close friends, but they were both going separate ways. Tomoka smiled to herself as she stared up at the clouds. How they were all so carefree.

"Saa, Osakada-chan. This is where you're staying now?" A smooth voice questioned out of the blue.

The pig-tailed girl jolted out from her spot, slowly turning her head and giving the person a nervous smile. "Of course not!" Tomoka said in a haughty tone, mustering a large, fake smile. "I'm just resting here a little..." She spoke, her voice betraying her.

"That isn't very healthy for you." Fuji spoke, his eyebrows furrowed as he crossed his arms. A gentle smile fell onto his face as he held out a hand. "Why don't we go together after school? If you're not that busy that is." He spoke politely, the way a prince would have. But princes weren't real and were only there in the fantasy of fairy tales. Tomoka shook her head lightly to the side as she stared down at the ground. She did a ninety-degree bow.

"Gomenasai, Fuji-senpai! But i have to take care of my co- brothers! My little brothers." She spoke nodding her head furiously up and down before scurrying away frantically. Fuji seemed confused at the girls action; he would have sworn that she would always make everything a big deal, mostly if he asked her on a kind of date. He shook his head before chucking to himself of the girl's frantic expression. He then left towards the tennis gates.

Tomoka ran into the girl's restroom and sighed as she planted herself on the ground. She felt so nonathletic for getting tired after a short run but that wasn't the matter. She rinsed her face with some cold water and stared at her reflection in the mirror. "Baka..." She muttered to herself, squinting her eyes shut. She heard the clamor of voices come into the room and she saw a few girls of her grade. They had fake extended and glitter embedded nails, their eyes wore fake eyelashes, while some others had used mascara instead. The waft of thick perfume smell enveloped the room. Tomoka coughed, the smell running into her noes. She used all her strength to act polite towards the girls and not just run out of the door, knocking them down in process, and not giving a care in the world.

"Ah, Osakada-san," Girl 1 spoke, the other girls followed her behind as she rushed towards Tomoka, holding out a bag. "I got these cheer leader outfits for the big match for Ryoma-sama."

Tomoka bit her tounge down and closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. "WHAT?!" She asked loudly, "I can't believe you already got them!" She hugged the girl and jumped up and down. "We're going to go and cheer on the tennis club." She spoke, "For Ryoma-sama!" She said happily, the huge grin never leaving her expression.

The girls walked out of the restroom, waving their hands to each other and departing ways. As Tomoka walked, her eyes widened when she saw a group of girls walking calmly through the halls. Some people gathered around, awing as if the people in front were angels. Tomoka frowned slightly when she saw the figure of her friend staggering behind the girls. She looked at all their figures, clothes worn neatly, with tennis bags around their shoulders. The white, bold letters of SEISHUN GAKUEN was embedded on it. Along with their initial names.

"Come on Sakuno." A sweet voice spoke up. The figure threw their arms around the timid girl before linking arms with her. "We're going to class. Don't you think it's amazing how we've become classmates? Even Echizen-san is there." The girl wiggled her eyebrows in a silly way, making Sakuno laugh. "Come on everyone, we need to hurry with class. Out of my way!"

"Hai Buchou." A few voices coursed.

The voices lowered as the female teacher came into the room, pushing up her spectacles. Class started and everyone got to work. Tomoka couldn't help, but feel slightly alone in the class. It wasn't like she had no other friends, but they weren't close to her. They rarely talked to her despite them acting friendly. It was strange how Tomoka used to be in the same class as Sakuno. Just last year they were in different classes, but their friendship didn't change much. Now on the other hand, it was a completely different aspect. Neither female friends spoke to each other much then a few words for the whole week. Their schedules never matched up, and they were in different worlds when it came to school.

Sakuno who was a regular of the girl's tennis team hanged out with them more. It was expected actually, but Tomoka didn't think she would feel this terrible. She missed her clumsy friend and how she gave out witty remarks to give the shy girl some confidence. She wanted to greet the girl in the morning or walk together to school like they always had; like best friends. Instead, Sakuno had to wake up early to go to tennis practice, and they never met up in the morning. Tomoka would have been already in class when Sakuno finally came dashing from the stairway and to her own separate class.

Tomoka didn't really get along with the other members of the girl's tennis team. They thought of as a comrade, kind of a friend but they spoke of her like she was some sort of a love rival. "What do you want with Sakuno? Trying to steal her beauty?" A voice seethed out.

Tomoka wore a flabbergasted expression before shouting, "What are you talking about?!" She almost screeched out. "I wouldn't do such a thing ever! Especially towards Sakuno!"

"Hey Calm down!" A taller girl spoke, her expression hardened. "We were just joking. There's nothing about this conversation that is going to go anywhere."

Sakuno had came around the corner and smiled, "Tomo-chan!" She greeted and quickly hugged the girl. "I-I have tennis practice again, so we can't hang out until the weekend." She spoke softly, "But only for a few hours since the team have to go celebrate for our win at the practice matches." She explained. Her hair was tied in a braid like always. The girl looked the same physically except for being taller but that didn't matter; her aura changed completely.

Tomoka shook her head, "It's alright. I'll meet you up at your house on Saturday morning." She spoke before writing the time on a piece of paper and handing one to Sakuno. "Ja na, Sakuno." She ran out the opposite way, ignoring the laughter behind her. Just hanging out with her best friend, even if it was for a few hours was fine with her.

* * *

><p>When Saturday came Tomoka dressed up for the event. She wore her favorite yellow-hood jacket and threw on a pair of shorts, knee-high socks and sneakers. Instead of her usual pig-tails, she wore her hair in a side ponytail. Her younger brothers that she was always taken care of was dropped off at a Day Care so she could spend some time with Sakuno. It had been a while since they talked and Tomoka missed it.<p>

"Sakuno!" Tomoka shouted out towards the girl. She waved her hand in the air trying to get attention of her friend and gripped tightly onto the basket she held with her other, free hand. "Sakuno!" She said grinning and holding out the basket. "I brought food."

The went to a nearby tennis court where they could have played some games. Tomoka was against it at first, but Sakuno persuaded her which she usually in the past wouldn't have done. "Alright! Let's play Sakuno! But don't go easy on me just because I don't really play tennis."

The two girls went on opposite courts. "S-Smooth or Rough Tomo-chan?" Sakuno spoke in her soft voice. Tomoka just shook her head and insisted that because Sakuno had more experience, she should go first without question.

They got into position, walking towards the baseline. As Sakuno served the ball high in the air, Tomoka did a swift receive and the ball was wild. It hit back and forth, neither one wanting to back down without a fight. Their panting voices were the only thing heard with the rhythmic sound of the tennis ball. "15-Love!" A voice drew out dully. The two girls looked to see Ryoma standing there. "Chisu." He greeted.

Just like the old days, everything came back like a gush of water. The senpais who were in high school came waltzing through. They threw arms around the cocky third year and talked about loudly. Jokes thrown back and forth, with the talks of familiarity. A tennis racket dropped as the figured rushed to the group; Sakuno had left the tennis game and was now shy talking to Ryoma, hints of confidence found in her voice. Tomoka stared and turned, seeing the lifeless ball lay on her corner. Her hand felt stiff as she increased the grip on her own racket.

"Oh~ Ohayou!" A gentle voice spoke, a girl ran towards the group with a few others following. They wore tennis bags around their shoulders and by their height differences, it was easy to tell that they were all in different grades. The shorter girls, ones about the same height as Sakuno caught their full attention by speaking loudly above everyone else. "Attention!" They said smiling, "There's a tournament for the boy's tennis team right?" She asked, referring to both junior and senior high schoolers. "Me and Sakuno made these together with the help of our team and senpai!"

The girl took out a large white banner with sewed in letters. A course of voices broke out and the girl puffed her cheeks out. "I'm the current bucho of the team." She said in a sweet tone, "So i is my responsibility to do something like this."

"After we win, we can celebrate with sushi." Kawamura spoke shyly, the others nodded.

Sakuno widened her eyes as she turned around, "Ah, I almost forgot!" She shouted, Ryoma watching her intently. "Tomo-" She stopped mid-way in her sentence when she realized no pig-tailed girl was standing there. She was gone except for the basket that laid there.

"Minna, Yudan Sezu Ni Ikou." Tezuka spoke, his lips bonded tightly on his face.

Tomoka rushed home, not bothering to even say a goodbye. She was fuming; the people that surrounded everyone, it just wasn't the same anymore. She cared deeply of her friends but now she was out of the picture. She didn't even step one foot near them. The girl's tennis bucho seem rather close with everyone and she even made a banner. Something about that girl made her uneasy, but she didn't want to say.

"Tomoka." A stern voice spoke and the girl quickly looked up. Piercing black eyes stared at her and she straightened herself. "I wouldn't think you would be doing something so irrational. I know you're trying hard and everything. The plan is almost over so you don't need to do anything like this ever again." The man finished talking and urged the girl to walk inside the house, "We're having a conversation with a very special guest. So please."

Tomoka blinked, "Otousan." She spoke lightly before nodding. "Yes, I know all that already. It's...not a problem." She spoke gently. As the two walked into the living room, a figure was sitting on the couch. Tomoka stared into their indigo eyes and wore a light, genuine smile. Her eyes sparkled; She quickly ran from her father's side and ran to the boy with his hands wide open. "I missed you!" She spoke in a soft tone.

"Hm? I didn't know you preferred pig-tails." The boy spoke before letting out a light chuckle.

Tomoka puffed her cheeks out and grabbed her hair-bands, letting her hair down, "What if I do?" She inquired, "I moved out from both you and Gen, so I did change. It's been such a long time too..."

The boy stroked the girls hair and smiled, "Welcome back, Tomoka-chan."

"Thank you. I know I visited everyone just last week, but I miss you guys." A cough was voiced and Tomoka blushed red, "O-Otousan! Get out!"

* * *

><p>The hoard of fan girls increased in number as Tomoka did nothing. Being a self proclaimed 'president' of the Echizen Ryoma fan club made other girl's blood boil. Instead, the captain of the girl's tennis team took that spot.<p>

"You wanted to talk to me?" Tomoka asked in a cheerful tone as she walked into her own club room. The door closed tightly and a group of girls bowed.

"We're sorry, but we're kicking you out as president. Hanabi is much better." The group spoke.

Tomoka didn't know what was going on, instead a girl came in and smiled. "Good morning everyone. Ara, Tomoka." The girl smiled, her face was clearly been staged with some make up. "I hope you understand everything clearly. Sakuno is now part of my team in which I have taken care of her. She is; after all, my very first _best_ friend in the team. And since Sakuno is going to busy, this year and of course the next. As president, I will fully support her in a relationship with Echizen. Now, you won't have any of your fast passes, will you?" She inquired.

Everything Hanabi had spoken of was sickly sweet. It made Tomoka feel like she was going to puke, "Be quiet..." She spoke. She heard a question being raised in the air and glared at her, "SHUT UP." She seethed out, "I don't care what you do anymore." Tomoka slid open the door and threw it closed behind her. She stomped her foot out of the building and right under a tree. She slumped down and felt like crying.

"Osakada." A voice brought her back to reality and she saw Ryoma standing right in front of her. When he saw her tears, he didn't know what to do. He kept quiet and just stood there.

"Ryoma-sama!" She said, straining through her voice, "What are you doing here?!" She screeched.

The boy sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "I just saw you here." He spoke in a blunt tone. Tomoka looked down and sighed.

"I'm not Ryoma-sama's number one fan." she spoke, "I'm not the president anymore."

Ryoma raised a brow, "Che...I don't hate you or anything." He said.

The girl wiped her tears away and her eyes widened. "R-Really?" She questioned. Ryoma stared at the girl who was glimmering in front of him. She didn't feel like the normal Tomoka, she was like another girl. She didn't shout loudly or screech in his ears in fan girl mode. Instead, it was almost like the first time that they actually had a normal conversation that wasn't something related to her being annoying or his unbelievable tennis skills. "I'm so relieved! Thank you, Echizen-san." She spoke gently and smiled.

"Ah there you are Echizen!" A loud voice shouted and came the running of Momo with the rest of the old regulars trailing behind. "Geeze, you always disappear to somewhere. Oh, Tomoka-chan! You're here with Echizen." He said grinning before studing the girl, "Your eyes are red." He said as if it was something strange.

"Idiot." Kaido spoke, "She was definitely crying before..." He stated and the other turned their heads towards the said girl.

Tomoka looked up at the other regulars and smiled brightly before Ryoma could say anything. "No, it's fine. Echizen-san did nothing." She spoke happily, grasping her hands together. She stood up, and continued to smile. "Bye Echizen-san! I don't mean to keep calling you Ryoma-sama for no reason." She spoke, "And it was nice seeing senpai-tachi too." She bowed and started to leave.

Eiji stooped the girland stood in front of her, "Nya! I thought Tomoka-chan liked Ochibi!"

"Sa.. What's with her calling Echizen 'Echizen-san now?" Fuji inquired as he glanced towards their very own data man. Inui pushed his glasses up and shook his head with the green notebook in his hands.

"Based on data on Osakada." Inui spoke in a slow tone, "Everything she is doing is out of character. There is no percentage that she would ever call Echizen that politely and not scream his name off her lungs. Instead of her usual boisterous personality, she changed dramatically for keeping a level head. Nothing like this can ever happen to a person in a such a way..." When Inui was finished, it just left everyone completely confused. Something was happening yet what was it?

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><p>They needed answers. Things to help understand why the girl changed so differently. The image of a pig-haired girl, loud, cheerful and someone who was like a superhero disappeared. That person seemed to never exist anymore. They all felt content with the girl's presence. Others may have thought of saying how troublesome she was for cheering on the tennis team and being so loud. But she was the only one who cared about the team so much and always tried to go to their tournaments. There was no fan club, no cheer squad. Yet she would always be the one who shouted the loudest. Her words, cheering them on spoke loud and clear through all the other voices of the crowd. She was different. They were too selfish. Thinking the girl would always be by their side. They didn't do anything wrong in their perspective as they barely even talked to the girl. They were all close in others views. But they barely knew about Tomoka who was always gone by after school, saying she needed to talk care of her two younger brothers at home. They only ever saw her at school and that was it.<p>

They thought they could tlak to her again. But she never came back. She left school and when graduation came, it swept them off their feet. No one talked about Osakada Tomoka, and weren't even worried.

The Seigaku regulars thought of her more than some cheer girl. She was their friend, an important one at that.

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><p><strong>And that's it for chapter 1!<strong>  
><strong>It didn't come out the way I thought of it...but <strong>**Thank you for reading and hope you guys support me to see where this story may lead to.  
>Again, you have my thanks and utmost appreciation!<strong>

**See you all in Chapter 2!  
>~Yuka Hara<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Big thanks for those reading and How you're interested in the story. Here's is chapter two!**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their rightful owners! Only I own the plot and the Ocs. Thank you!**

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><p>Spring came soon,and the cherry blossoms came abloom. High school for the third year middle schoolers came rolling in naturally. The sun gazed down on the ground lovingly, watching the figures of people walking to and fro. Crowds of students wearing Seishun High uniforms stormed around huge bulletin. Names and classes were enlisted on them; from year first to third. People pushed around, trying to see their names, but slowly people started to separate, allowing those who didn't push and was neither aggressive to go forth to see their classes.<p>

"We're in the same class!" A loud voice spoke and hugged a girl right next to her. One had her hair in a side pony-tail while the other had plaited braids. "Isn't that great Sakuno-chan? This is almost like destiny." The girl smiled out at her friend.

Sakuno only nodded, "That's right Hanabi-chan. I hope we have fun this year too." She spoke in a soft tone, "We're joining tennis again."

The two girls exchanged a small conversation and were being cautious before bumping into another girl they didn't see. It seemed like it was someone they never laid their eyes on, a normal teenage girl with brown eyes and hair that was neatly combed straightly past her shoulders and was adorned with a small maroon ribbon on the left side. "Sorry about that." Hanabi spoke, "Didn't see you."

The mysterious girl only tilted her head to the side and smiled brightly, "It's fine, I should've looked." Without another word, the girl walked in front of the bulletin and checked off her name. She waved her hand as a kind gesture towards Sakuno and Hanabi and then walked off.

The two girls shrugged their shoulders slightly and hurried themselves to their own class. Everything was normal and in place. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all. That same day, Ryoma went and met up with his senpais at the tennis courts. He saw them talking with other people but when the saw him, all the attention averted to him instead. The cocky boy was a bit embarrassed by the intense looks and only pretended to care less about anything. Starting matches would be soon held to hold the regulars, but everyone already knew who they would be. It would be none other than the very team that won the first national tournament in middle school. All around, every middle school had their tennis team upgraded for their members were all returning. The very ones that were invited to the U-17 camp.

"Ne, have you heard of the first year beauty? I heard she was pretty known in middle school too."

Voices around spoke about a first year who was outrageously beautiful in their eyes. "H-Hanabi-chan is so cool!" A girl squealed as she leaned near the fence, watching the said girl playing tennis on the courts.

"Oh, there's tennis." A girl spoke. She smiled slightly and stretched her arm. She turned around, feeling satisfied by just watching and bumped into somebody. "Sorry." She spoke and when she looked up, she squinted her eyes at the person. "Ah, Kaidoh-senpai." She said, smiling brightly and bowing. "Nice to see you again, are you and Momo-senpai playing tennis with everyone else?" She questioned. Kaidoh looked at the girl, confusion written clearly around his face. The girl let out a small laugh before pointing at herself, "It's me. Tomoka. Osakada Tomoka." She said, the wind blowing her hair to the side.

"Hora! Mamushii!"

Momo came rushing to the confused boy's side almost instantly after his call and grinned from ear to ear. "What are you doing here? Chatting up with a first year now? It's only the beginning Mamushii!" He shouted. Slowly, he squinted his eyes down at the girl and looked at her closely. His eyes starting intensely at her face as if he would recognize her. "Gah! You look like someone!" He shouted in agony, "Have we met?"

"Of course we have, Momo-senpai." Tomoka spoke with a smile and when she only got silence returned she wore a small frown, "It's me, Osakada Tomoka. Your kouhai?" She questioned, raising a brow and crossing her arms on her chest. "Is something wrong?" She asked when she saw Momo's face turn sleek white. Suddenly, she felt a jolt on her arm and was dragged away by Momo, Kaidoh following slowly behind the two. She tried shaking the male's hand off her arm but she couldn't, his grip was too strong.

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><p>Momo came rushing to the tennis courts, panting as if he never ran so hard. He dragged behind him a girl who was out of breath as well. "Senpai...-tachi..." Momo breathed out, trying to grasp his words firmly. "T-This is.." He never got to finish talking since Eiji bounced his way towards the two.<p>

"Nya! Momo, you don't look so well." The boy spoke with a cute grin, he was so cheerful around him and he made everyone just perk up. "Eh...I didn't know you already got a girlfriend Momo!" Eiji said in a surprised voice before smiling at Tomoka "I'm Kikumaru Eiji! Nice to meet you!" He said. When she never replied back to him, Eiji pouted, "Wah! Did I scare her?" He asked the regulars who were now around him.

"I'm sorry about Eiji..." Oishi spoke to Tomoka with a sympathetic expression.

Tomoka widened her eyes slightly in a state of shock, "No, it's fine." She spoke quietly under her breath. She questioned herself, wondering if they recognized her at all. She let out a sigh and the bell rang. It was her savior for letting her out of this mess, "It's seeing senpai-tachi again." She said bowing her head more towards Momo and Kaidoh and hurried off to go to her first class.

First class was homeroom so all the seats were scattered. When Tomoka reached her class, she realized she may have came in too late as most of the seats were filled by other students. She spotted a seat close to the door just as she walked in. She frowned a bit realizing that the first seat was taken by some boy, she shuffled her shoes and sat down in the desk behind him. She looked around, seeing some familiar faces but ignored her urge to go up to them and start a converstation. It was something truly odd to her; that a single change in appearance and a slight tweak in personality would change a person, allowing no one to know who they were.

The teacher came in and introduced herself to everyone as Kotobuki-sensei. The class started an introduction of each person and before she knew it, it was Tomoka's turn.

"Osakada, Tomoka. Nice to meet everyone." She spoke in a straightforward tone. She heard some whispering behind her and just smiled to those who knew her. Then as she sat down, she listened to the boy in front of her introduce themselves.

"I'm Horio, Satoshi! I would say I'm good in tennis a bit." Horio spoke rather in a loud tone though his voice was a bit deeper and wasn't as squeaky and annoying. Tomoka studied the guy closely and she furrowed her eyebrows. She knew the boy since her first year of middle school yet she realized he also changed drastically. His unibrown was gone and he looked a bit more structured. His brown hair was still short but seemed to gloss in the light. He even became more polite. "I have over five years of tennis!" He shouted proudly. Tomoka blinked, she took everything back, he didn't change, _much. _

As the boy sat down, the two stared at each other. "You're- Horio/Osakada?!" They spoke questioning each other.

"Alright, alright!" Kotobuki-sensei spoke, clapping her hands. She wore a calm smile, "You two can get aquainted later, class is starting now." She spoke before letting out a sigh, "I'll end class a few minutes early." She announced.

The class drawled on from homeroom to the other periods. Tomoka went to home economics with a small basket in hand. She was asked by the teacher to get some supplies for herself since she didn't have any. Tomoka came into the door quietly and sat in her own seat. Next to her was a student who was working on their own project. She laid the supplies on the small area of the table and spread out the frabic. She started stitching the figure, adding cotton in it and putting pins at the intersection so it wouldn't come out. The idea was simple. Make something handmade by yourself, if you didn't know how to make anything, try something simple. Tomoka looked at other students who didn't have an idea on whatever to do. She looked down at the pieces of fabric she cut and took them in her hands. She walked to another table and dumped it on their empty desk. "You can stitch these together, it'll form something but you can still get a grade for it." She spoke bluntly.

"Are you sure Osakada-san?" One girl spoke up, looking at her group members. Tomoka only gave a nod and went back to her seat. She looked up to see a girl staring at her but turned away instantly, the boy next to her was turning red and she furrowed her brows. What was just wrong with everyone?

"Done." Tomoka muttered to herself with a smile. It was a small dark purple teddy bear with a green headband. She then took a piece of brown fabric and did the same thing with it, making a tiny cap on the top of the head. As the bell rang for the end of class, the teacher hurriedly looked around at everyone's work. She complimented on Tomoka's work and the girl smiled. "Thank you, Sensei."

As Tomoka was the last person to come out of the class, she saw a girl standing to the side. It was the same girl that thanked her for the fabric in class. "Thank you Osakada-san. Really! I mean I never done anything with homemade things..." The girl said nervously. "Oh, that's right. I'm Shinoto Narumi. Nice to meet you." The girl wore think spectacles that covered the bottom of her eyes. Her hair was tied up in a short ponytail and her overall appearance was very sharp.

The two girls had a small conversation and realized most of their classes were the same. They both walked towards the girl's locker room to get changed for P.E. "There's spare lockers here." Tomoka said, urging Narumi to follow her to the middle of the room. The locks were both on the locker still and they went to get their combination. When they changed, there was whispering around them. Narumi looked up from the ground and sent a glare. "Shinoto-san?" Tomoka questioned.

Narumi walked up right towards a girl and stomped her foot in front of her, "Do you want something from me? I can hear you know. It doesn't matter if someone is completely **flat.** Are you sure yourself isn't fake? A pad fell." She spoke in a threatening tone and walked next to Tomoka. "Osakada-san, we should hurry to class." She spoke with a careless smile.

The students sat on the floor in the gymnasium. Usually, most schools had all the years separated completely, but Physical Education was a bit different. The classes were rather mixed by years. Because there was sports club that aimed for big tournaments and such, their practices were important. That was why most of the sports club members had P.E during the middle of the day. If they had it right after morning practice they would have been too tired.

Tomoka sat next to Narumi who only seemed like a sweet girl. "Sorry about before." Narumi spoke, "I sometime just act like that." Tomoka looked at her and shook her head, she didn't mind the girl having a second personality. "Did you go to Seigaku Middle?" She questioned the girl with the beauty mark. Tomoka looked down on the ground and to the side, averting the gaze of Narumi. She nodded a little and then the girl grabbed her hands. "Really? Then you're **thee **Osakada Tomoka?"

"I don't think there's anyone with the same name as me." Tomoka said with a grim smile. Narumi looked taken aback by the brunett's reaction and decided to drop the topic. If she wanted to say something, she would probably say it in the future.

"Well, either way, I know that Osakada-san is nice." Narumi said and she took out her hand. "We're friends now, are we, Tomoka-chan?"

"Of course we are Narumi-chan." Tomoka spoke with a smile.

The two laughed to themselves, but stopped when they heard cheering. Tomoka's eyes widened in relization, why haven't she realized anything sooner? On one side of the court was Horio whose team and opponent was all of the regulars. They played volleyball in an extreme pace but you could see that they weren't used to playing it. "It's the regulars!" Narumi spoke in shock, "They're all here!" Then her eyes averted to the side, "Isn't that Ryuzaki Sakuno and the girl's tennis team captain... Hanabi?" She questioned.

Tomoka turned to see two girls sitting in the corner and giggling to a group of girls. They chatted happily and you could see that on the corner was tennis bags with Seigaku written on it. Names of the girls were embedded onto the bag, showing that those were the regulars for the girls tennis team. _The same two girls from this morning... _Tomoka thought to herself bitterly. She watched her old friend laugh happily. Looking at the side, she glanced at Narumi who was just quietly watching the regulars playing volleyball. "Aren't you going to cheer for them like the others?" She questioned.

Narumi gave her a strange expression and laughed, "No, they never paid attention to me, they don't even know who I am. I rather not be involved with them." She say glancing to the side before pointing at a hoard of girls that formed a wall around the court. "You see them? They're the new fan girl club. One that is more larger and extravagant than the one in middle school. Ever since Hanabi became the president, she recruited all these students. There are even a girls tennis team club. There isn't a president for that one though." She explained. "You were the president before right...?"

"Yeah I was. I just wasn't suited for that position." Tomoka said.

Narumi stood up, "That's wrong. I watched you cheer the team on for one of the games and I believe that you were the best one cheer squad I know."

Tomoka smiled, "Thank you Narumi-chan. Here." Tomoka took out a small pink teddy bear with a small bow on it's head. "It's nothing much, but I made it as an extra during class. So you can have it." She said.

Narumi took the small plushie in her hands and started to tear up, "Tomoka-chan!" She cried, "Thank you!"

Tomoka laughed at the girl, saying it was nothing and that they were friends. The two were being so loud, they didn't even know it themselves.

"Tomoka-chan...thank you for being my friend. I was afraid I wouldn't get to know anyone this year. You're really kind, I regret not talking to you in the past." Narumi spoke up, fiddling with the doll.

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><p>"Is that Osakada-chan?" Eiji asked as he squinted his eyes through the crowd, spotting a girl sitting against the wall and talking to another girl. "Nya! I bet it is!" Eiji shouted in shock. "Oishi! Look, it's Osakada-chan! She's back and she even left before without saying goodbye." The boy said in a pout.<p>

Oishi shook his head, "We never heard a word about her, not even from Ryuzaki-chan." Oishi spoke in slight worry, "It's probably not her." He spoke.

Momo and Kaidoh started to cough rather loudly to get the attention of everyone else. "Is something wrong with your throats?" Kawamura questioned.

"No...it's...well..." Momo tried to get the words right as he scratched the back of his head. He just didn't know how he would explain to his senpai that he already met Tomoka that morning and the girl agianst the wall was indeed her.

"Senpai-tachi." Kaidoh said, "That is Osakada." He spoke roughly, "Me and Peach head just met her this morning and she was dragged with us to the courts too."

"EH!?" Eiji shouted, "Why didn't you tell us something so important Momo! We don't always get to see her before and now she's right there!"

"Echizen? Fuji?" Inui called out to two of the regulars who were now gone from the court. He looked just in time to see them walking towards Tomoka.

Fuji and Ryoma walked slowly towards the girl, hearing her voice loud and clear talking to another person next to her.

"Why do you have these two bears?" Narumi questioned her as she held the indigo and brown bear in her hands. "It's so cute too! There's tennis wrist bands for them and this one have a green headband while the other one have a military cap! It's amazing!"

Tomoka giggled, "It resembles my very important friends." She said, her cheeks covered in pink. Her eyes sparkled with just the thought and Narumi smiled.

"I see."

Fuji stopped mid-way before gripping on Ryoma's shoulder. "We shouldn't bother Osakada-chan. She's different, she changed." He spoke. "If she wanted to see us, she would've come to greet us. We should stop for now."

As Fuji left thinking, Ryoma stood there clutching his hands. The girl sure was annoying but he didn't hate it. She was someone who was there for everyone, himself included. Every game she would come, no matter how many times she said she was busy. He turned around and walked back without another word. If Fuji was right, he hoped that the girl would come greet them.

After classes ended for the day, Tomoka said goodbye to Narumi and decided to walk home. It was pretty lonesome as she walked but when she was just exiting the hallway, she bumped into Horio. "Horio?" She questioned.

"Osakada!" Horio shouted, "What is wrong with you!?" He said, shaking her shoulders. The girl didn't answer and he sighed, "Well it doesn't matter! I have my own fan club now! I mean I may become a regular next year! Plus that Hanabi-chan is sure cute!" He spoke blushing before looking at a stoic Tomoka.

"Shut up." She spoke clutching her fists. Horio decided to keep on rambling just to get on the girls nerves. "Horio! Be quiet!" She said shaking the boys shoulders. "You never change. Always the loud one!" She shouted.

"You're loud two Osakada! You disappeared last year without a trace! Ryuzaki was always wondering where you had went!" He shouted.

Tomoka kept quiet for a second and glared at Horio. "You don't know anything! You're just one of those stupid fan boys of that girl!" She clenched her hands to her side and huffed, she walked off trying to ignore the pained feeling in her chest. She thought Horio would just go and call her stupid and all the names from middle school but he didn't. He chased after her and shouted her name.

"What's that suppose to mean Osakada! I have five years of experience in tennis! I need someone who can match up to that skill." He spoke haughtily. Tomoka blinked at him and the two suddenly broke into laughter.

"You're such a baka..." Tomoka spoke through her laughter. They smiled and walked out the hallway, talking like the old days. "Really? I missed quite a lot." She learned that many people thought of Ryoma and Sakuno as a 'pair' but they never said anything to each other like that. There were clubs arising and the tennis circuit grew larger.

When they went out the building, Tomoka said bye and wandered off by herself to her house. She stared at the sky and sighed. Things sure changed. Before, she had rather become friends with Hanabi then talk to Horio as if they were close friends, but now she didn't think like that anymore. She thought that he really was her friend, after all, they did have most of the same classes. Tomoka started to lightly slap her cheeks as it was some sort of motivation for her. "Alright. Tomorrow is another day, anything can happen."

"Saa...Osakada-chan?" A soft voice spoke.

"F-Fuji-senpai?" Tomoka said out as her eyes widened to see the male standing behind her. She was surprised he was out here this late and more shocked that he had recognized her. She was sure that when she entered high school that no one seemed to actually know it was _her._ But she did remember telling Momo and Kaidoh her name during the day. She wondered if they spilled the beans and if they did, she didn't mind. "What are you doing out this late?" She asked with a smile.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading! <strong>  
><strong>Hope you enjoy it! I know Tomoka is OOC but I just want her to have a more meaning to her character.<strong>


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